Paso del Cedral

Splendid toadfish are the first thing guides look for at Cedral, wedged into crevices at the foot of the finger coral where the drift begins on flat ground. Spotted drums work the shade nearby and an octopus may be folded into a hole, and guides know the small caves in the sand where big lobster and the odd large green moray sit. The current can run hardest on this stretch, before any structure offers shelter.

Then the reef begins and the fish come with it: grunts and snappers in large schools, packed into the breaks. Every gap is a pocket out of the flow, and the gaps work for a diver too. With a coral mound between you and the current you can wind back and forth across and under the reef, and twenty or thirty minutes over one stretch is realistic. This middle third is where photographers spend most of the dive. The drift finishes over another mound of sand where barracuda hang and turtles feed.

How it feels depends on the water. At the quiet end of its range this is a reef you work at walking pace; on a strong day it is a fast ride over the coral with the group strung out behind the guide. Most operators run Cedral as the second tank of the morning, though as the first dive of the day it tends to be less crowded and better lit for photos.

Along the outer edge the ground falls away into Cedral Wall, past 30 m and in faster water. Reef and wall seldom fit into a single tank, so choose on the boat.

Cedral packs a great many fish into very little relief. The reef is low and broken, and the breaks are the point: each one gives cover from the current, and large numbers of fish congregate in that shelter. Grunts and snappers fill them, green morays are a good bet, and nurse sharks turn up regularly among the mounds.

The Endangered splendid toadfish sits in crevices of the flat opening, found at 12-18 m on a relaxed profile with gas to spare.

It is one of the island's most visited reefs, and groups often drift over it close together.

Eight divers behind one guide, several boats on the same strip and water moving faster than anyone swims make losing the group the likeliest problem. Carry a surface marker, agree the plan on the boat and use the breaks in the reef when you want to stop.

On a second tank nitrox buys minutes: a diver who is good on air can press the no-stop limit here with plenty of gas left.

Cedral reef and wall were rested in February and March in both 2025 and 2026, the months the island is sold for its clearest water, so ask your shop which reefs are resting for your dates.